what should we call A and B if A gives B reference letter?
A: referee? then how about B?
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Also a duplicate of http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/46874/what-is-the-person-called-whom-you-give-a-recommendation – ab2 Nov 10 '16 at 18:58
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The -ee suffix generally represents the object of an action, so I would normally say that the referee is B, not A. This is somewhat clouded by the meaning of referee in sports and other contests, so I would avoid referee altogether as potentially confusing.
A can certainly be the referrer, and since a reference letter is a recommendation, could also be the recommender; B could be the recommendee.
More likely, though, I would refer to A as the author and to B as the subject of the referral, or even of the letter.
phoog
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Thank you! I noticed that in dictionary, referee is a person willing to testify in writing about the character or ability of someone, especially an applicant for a job...quite confused – mia Nov 10 '16 at 17:37
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@mia then apparently the word referee is already established in that meaning, and you can ignore my comment. Although I would ask: what dictionary are you using? – phoog Nov 10 '16 at 17:40